puer praesidio
by Rosalie Barvik
Summary: Thanos has destroyed half the universe. Literally. Meanwhile on Titan, Tony and Nebula compare their terrible fathers. Tony makes an important decision and Nebula lets down her walls. Fluff/whump. dad!Tony.
1. Nebula

**Inspired by an Insta post by ironmanstan. Hope you enjoy!**

Tony leaned forward, clutching his aching side. He had sealed off his stab wound and stopped the bleeding, but it still pained him. He needed medical attention. He needed food and water (he was already light-headed enough without the gnawing sense of need for nourishment). Tony Stark needed help. He knew he did. Tony always had hated asking for help. This was one of the only instances where he was actually willing to ask for it. And it was the only time he couldn't have it. He was stuck, stranded, on the goddamn planet Titan.

Nebula sat a little ways off, leaning against a large piece of rubble. In her right hand she held a long knife. She was repetitively running her fingers up and down the flat of the blade, murmuring softly to herself. Tony couldn't make out what she was saying, but he caught a few words. "Gamora" "Thanos" "failure" were some of them.

Tony felt utterly lost. He had been lost before, but this was different. This time he was alone. He did not have Pepper, or Rhodey, or Steve, or Peter. Peter. Tony's stomach lurched. Oh God, Peter. Only hours ago Tony had held the small teen in his arms, while the boy begged him to live. Peter Parker, young, innocent, _stupid_ Peter Parker had turned to dust. And Tony had done nothing. It wasn't like Tony was able to do something and had failed to. It was all out of his control. He hated being out of control. Even though it wasn't remotely his fault, Tony felt a tremendous amount of guilt. What was he going to tell Aunt May? Oh, Peter. If only—

 _Ziiing!_

A knife was suddenly imbedded in the hard ground by Tony's feet. He gave a startled cry and jumped to his feet. Pain raced through his side. Groaning, Tony dropped back down on his knees.

Nebula rolled her eyes and retrieved her knife. "Stop whining, you big baby. It could be a lot worse.''

"Oh, shut up!'' Tony snapped. "Why the hell did you throw a knife at me?''

Nebula shrugged. "I didn't throw it at you.''

"Whatever,'' growled Tony. Nebula was right. It could be a lot worse for him. As far as Tony knew, the only friend (ahem, son) he had lost was Peter. Nebula had lost everyone at the hands of her father. Including her own sister Gamora. Nebula _was_ truly alone. Tony wasn't. But what did it matter? They were both stranded just the same.

"So,'' Nebula began. "How do you plan to get us off Titan?''

"Do you really think I know? Seriously?"

"Well you _are_ the genius up here.''

Tony couldn't argue with that.

"So. . .?''

"Why does everyone always expect me to have the answer?!'' Tony yelled.

"Because you act like you do! If you aren't a god, then stop acting like it!'' Nebula shot back.

Tony slouched, utterly defeated. "I can't do anything. We're stuck.''

Nebula's unflinching gaze met his.

"I'm sorry.'' Damn human emotions. Tony was _not_ going to cry in front of this humanoid warrior.

"For what?" Nebula's blue biceps twitched.

"For failing,'' Tony whispered. "I've failed everyone. My friends, my family, you. No matter how hard I try, I just protect everyone. I'm a failure, just like my dad said I would be.''

"Mm, well, dads.'' Nebula sighed. "Tough love, you know? My dad abused me and had me carry out his dirty work. He tortured me for forty hours straight. Never told me he loved me. Used me, most of the time. Never thankful, always expectant. It's just how it is.''

Tony was speechless. Nebula didn't say anymore.

"Well, um, no, actually,'' Tony said haltingly. "That's not how it is. At least not most of the time. My dad never physically hurt me. It's, um, it's okay, Nebs. I won't—" Tony stopped. He was about to make a promise he could never keep. Or could he? He hadn't been able to save Peter, but he might just be able to save Nebula. "I won't let Thanos hurt you ever again.''

Nebula still said nothing. Then, slowly, she dropped her knife and sat down beside Tony. She was silent. Behind her fierce gaze Tony could detect something else: vulnerability. She was young, he realized. A lot younger than he had first noted. Nebula appeared to be barely an adult! Tony knew she was letting her walls down. Why would she ever do that? Especially in front of him, a practical stranger! Now Tony could no longer see her as a deadly warrior. He could only see her as a broken, vulnerable, child who was randomly putting a great deal of trust in him. _Just like Peter._

Tony made a decision. He wasn't going to let Nebula down like he had with Pete. He was going to protect her (emotions, not body. She would probably protect his body.) Tony was going to get him and Nebula off Titan. "Stick with me, kid. Looks like you just got yourself a new and actual dad.''

Nebula looked up at him. Her eyes shone with curious wonder.

Tony smiled. Christ, he'd never had anything like a daughter. He would have to ask Pepper for tips once they got back to earth. Because that's what they were about to do.

He got to his feet, pulling Nebula up with him. Tony scanned the barren plains for anything useful. "Alright, Nebs, here's the plan. We're going to fix that donut over there and use it to take us back to earth.''

Nebula hinted a ghost of a smile. "You mean the Q-Ship?''

"That's the one.'' Tony rubbed his wounded side once more. Despite all the crap they'd been through, Tony was going to get them off Titan. "We need to forage anything possible to fix that thing. It won't be hard, but we're short on material.''

"Alright,'' Nebula started off in the opposite direction to find the material, but she paused. "Tony?''

"Yeah, kid?"'

"What the hell is a donut?''


	2. Nebula II

As it turned out, Tony and Nebula never needed to fix the Q-Ship. The Guardians had left a perfectly good one. It took Tony only a couple minutes to figure how to pilot the ship. Nebula obviously knew how to pilot it (she had flown it once before), but she offered Tony no help. Tony knew why and he didn't dare disturb her. The ship, T _he Benatar_ , had belonged to Nebula's only friends. You know, the ones that were all dead. Tony assumed every aspect of the ship reminded her of the loss, like a scab being ripped off a wound every time it started healing. Tony understood her pain. He knew it would be best to not say anything, not even a word of comfort. Nebula knew she could come to him if she wanted to talk about it, but only if she wanted to. And at the moment, the last thing she wanted to do was talk about it.

Getting off Titan was not the hard part. Tony was abundantly glad to be rid of the horrible place. No, the hard part was finding Earth. Tony tried for hours while the drifted in space to figure out the mechanics of the coordinate and location devices. He could not. Eventually, he had to ask Nebula for help.

Tony found Nebula in the living quarters of the ship, lying against what he assumed was her sister Gamora's cot. Nebula was staring straight ahead, lost in deep thought. Tony gently tapped her shoulder for attention.

"Nebs?''

She jolted slightly as if he had awakened her from a dream. "What do you want?'' Her voice was raspy from lack of use.

"Do you have any idea how to locate Earth? I've been playing around with the systems for awhile and can't find anything.'' Tony usually hated asking for help from anyone, but he and Nebula had formed a silent understanding; they didn't judge one another.

Nebula pursed her lips, thinking hard. "Earth. The same Earth that idiot Quill is from?''

Even though she had insulted him, Tony detected pain in her voice at the mention of her friend. "There's only one Earth, kid.''

"I knew that,'' Nebula muttered. "We were never able to find Earth for Quill. It's not in this galaxy. I'm not sure how you got to Titan or how you got into this galaxy. But if you got in we must be able to get out somehow.''

This was not the answer Tony had been hoping for. _The Benatar_ had food provisions for no more than three days. It would undoubtedly take longer than that to get to Earth if they were not even in the same galaxy. He had to go home, but Tony didn't even know where to start. Nebula picked up on his hopelessness. "I think I can set the coordinates for the edge of the galaxy.''

"That would get us to Earth?''

Nebula shrugged. "Maybe. If we cross the right edge. But I've never been outside this galaxy. The officials forbid it. If by chance we did end up on Earth, the people would freak out, right? Aliens invading their planet and such. None of that matters now.''

The hope was slim, but it was still there. It was their only chance, Tony realized, if it wasn't right then they would both die. It was a risk worth taking. "Okay, then. Set the coordinates for the edge of the galaxy. Hope to God it's right.''

* * *

The "edge of the galaxy" was way further away than Tony initially thought. He kept asking Nebula is she was sure they were taking the right way. She insisted they were. Apparently Titan was one of the furthest planets away from the edge Nebula thought Earth's galaxy was connected to. Tony wished he had paid more attention to where they were going when he, Strange, and Peter had first arrived in outer space. This thought brought back painful memories. Dr Strange was an idiot. Why the hell had he given Thanos the Time Stone? Tony knew that he had done it to save his life. . . . but had he? Strange was a weird wizard man. But he said he had seen over 14,000 outcomes. He had said it had to be that way. But what way? Tony wondered. And then there was Peter. The guilt Tony felt every time he thought about the boy was overwhelming. It was his fault. . .

Time dragged by. Tony and Nebula had managed to stretch their provisions out for four days. Now they faced starvation and dehydration. On the fifth day, Nebula announced they had left the galaxy. "I think we're in the right galaxy now,'' she told Tony. "We should be approaching Earth soon.'' Tony hoped she was right. And he hoped Earth was close. He didn't know how much longer he could last before he went mad.

Tony lasted longer than he thought he would. Eight days. That was how long it had been since they left Titan. Nothing. No Earth, no planets. Barely any stars. They were drifting in space. Tony had never known such hunger, nor could be have ever imagined the pain of thirst he now felt. Nebula kept pushing on, saying that Earth would come onto the monitor any minute now. Tony appreciated her effort to keep his spirits up, but it was no use. Tony Stark had given up. He turned on the video recorder on his Iron Man suit's helmet. He gave Pepper a numb goodbye. After, breaking the message's connection and shutting off the suit for the last time, Tony lie back with his eyes shut.

A hand rest firmly on his shoulder. He knew who it was without looking up. Nebula sat down beside him. She lay her head on his shoulder and he put a tired arm around her. They sat like that a long while. In the message Tony had sent Pepper he had told her she would be the person he thought only of while slowly perishing. He remembered her every feature. Her soft blonde hair, her sharp blue eyes, her sensual sense of humor. He missed it all. So much. He couldn't imagine what he'd done to her. Tony and Pepper were engaged. He promised he would not do anything stupid or irrational or dangerous anymore. And here he was, The Invincible Iron Man, dying a slow death on a spaceship. Eventually he fell into a merciful sleep.

* * *

When Tony woke, the first thing he felt was surprise. He'd actually woken up. He expected to have just died in his sleep. And maybe he would have except he was being shaken by Nebula. "What is it?'' He asked miserably. Could he not die in peace? Did he not at least deserve that. But one look at Nebula's young face and all negative thoughts vanished, replaced by an exhilarating hope.

Nebula was beaming. "We're here, we made it!''

"What?'' Tony asked, not believing his ears. "Wha—How?" He staggered to his feet and fell onto a windowsill. There it was: Earth. It was only a soccer-ball in the stars—stars!—but it was definitely Earth

"I don't know!'' Said Nebula excitedly. This was the first time Tony had ever seen her happy. She had a spark of hope. Hope to avenge her friends. And that small spark lit Tony's fire. Tony would avenge Peter. And Strange. And whoever else that bastard Thanos murdered.

Tony wrapped Nebula up in the tightest embrace he could muster in his weakened state. "Thank you. You saved us.'' She said nothing, but held on to him tightly. Tony wondered when the last time someone held her close was. Because of Nebula Tony would see Pepper again. Pepper would probably be pretty pissed at him. She thought he was dead. But she would be overjoyed to find him alive and— well, alive. Tony wondered humorously what she would say about their new humanoid daughter. Pepper would accept Nebula into the family, Tony decided, once he told the former how the latter had saved his life.

 _The Benatar_ suddenly gave a tremendous jolt. Nebula pulled away from Tony so hard he almost fell. She raced to the control board.

"What's wrong?'' Tony worriedly demanded. They were so close. He stumbled over to the controls. The ship was picking up speed due to the Earth's firm gravity. They were approaching the planet fast. Too fast.

" _The Benatar_ has never experienced anything like this in a galaxy,'' Nebula quickly explained. "As soon as it hits Earth's atmosphere, we're free falling. I don't know if I can slow the ship down in time. We're going to crash.''

Well of course they were going to crash, Tony thought bitterly. That was just how things went for Tony Stark.

"Tony.'' Nebula pointed to ahead of them. Earth was coming up rapidly. They were about to hit the atmosphere.

 _"Oh shit.''_

 **Wow. That was a hot mess. It was a bit of a filler chapter too, sorry. I have bigger plans for this story;)**

 **Reviews are always appreciated.**


	3. Nebula III

**Heeyyyyy I'm back. It's been too long, I know. But I think I am finally getting a good idea of how I want this story to play-out. Expect more regular updates starting in March. I'm currently involved with a musical production and it's consuming most of my free time, but it performs next weekend so after that I will be free to write more often.  
**

 **Don't forget to review! Reviews motivate me a lot and I really like hearing what you guys think!**

Tony blinked the morning sun out of his eyes. Cool air blew gently on his face. He was lying on his back, staring straight up into a clear blue sky. Where the hell am I? he wondered. The last thing he remembered was _The Benatar_ colliding with Earth's atmosphere. The few moments leasing up to the collision Tony had assumed that he would die on impact. Was he dead? Was this all just some form of afterlife? Heaven, as Peter called it. Was he about to meet Jesus? Tony didn't feel ready to meet Jesus. He'd never been exactly what you'd call "moral".

Tony blinked again. The blue sky was still there. There were no choirs of angels or golden clouds and shit so maybe Tony wasn't dead after all. That or Hell was really damn underrated.

"Tony?"

A face was suddenly close to his. Tony startled before recognizing blue humanoid's concerned face.

"Hey Nebs.''

Nebula's face relaxed and she breathed a small sigh of relief. "I thought I'd lost you. Are you alright?''

The pain was evident in her voice. She could not lose anyone else. Tony picked up on this and quickly sat up, which resulted in him groaning and clutching his throbbing skull. He waved Nebula away though, "I'm fine, I'm fine.'' It was true. Although he was bruised and sore, Tony was remarkably unhurt. Nebula helped him to his feet. He looked around and an unsettling feeling came over him. He'd been here before. He knew he had. But when?

 _The Benatar_ wreckage sat about ten yards away. The ship was totaled. There was no way he or Nebula could repair it. It was a miracle he hadn't been killed when he was thrown from the wreck. They were in a forest. Tall trees surrounded them 360 degrees. Tony hoped the forest had covered up the evidence of the ship's crash-landing, but he doubted it. Even if no one found the wreckage, at least someone would have seen it fall. He wondered how long they had before officials started showing up to investigate. He didn't want to be caught with a crashed spaceship and a humanoid. That along with his mystery disappearance, might make him a reasonable suspect for all the bullshit that had gone down with Thanos. After what happened with Ultron, Tony wouldn't have blamed anyone for believing him to be responsible for this disaster too.

"You're not hurt, are you?'' Tony asked.  
Nebula shook her head.

At least they were both unharmed. That was extremely good and more than a bit miraculous, Tony knew. "How long do you reckon we've been here?''

"Can't have been more than twenty minutes.''

Tony was alarmed. "How?''

"You were knocked out as soon as _The Benatar_ hit the atmosphere,'' Nebula explained. "I wasn't, I think because I'm part machine and a lot more durable. I couldn't stop the ship from crashing so I grabbed a parachute and jumped out with you in tow as soon as we got close enough to the ground.'' She gestured to a parachute lying not far off. "I tried waking you as soon as we landed, but it took longer than expected. We need to go. People will start showing up and it'll be a chore explaining why you're with a ugly, blue robot.''

Tony sighed. "Kay, first of all, you're not ugly. Second, we need to find out where we are. We could be literally anywhere on Earth. There might not be a civilized population for miles. We might not speak the same language as the locals. But I think we were lucky enough to land in the United States. This place is familiar. And the climate isn't any different than what I've experienced all my life. We may be in luck. But wherever we are, you're right. We don't want to be caught here. Let's go.''

"Which way?''

Tony thought for a moment. Then, he turned and pointed. "This way.''

"Do you know that's the way to the nearest town?" Nebula questioned. "Or are you just completely guessing?''

"It's an educated guess.''

"And it's educated because. . . ?"

"I've been here before.''

Nebula's dark eyes narrowed into slits. "How do you know?''

Tony was uncomfortable under her gaze. "I don't.''

The humanoid said nothing.

"Look, if this is going to work, I need you to trust me,'' said Tony, almost pleadingly. "I'm not going to do anything that will put either of us in danger. I promise.''

"I do trust you,'' Nebula said quietly.

Tony took her hand in his. When people trusted him it usually didn't turn out too well for them. But he firmly decided that this would be different. After what happened to Peter, he was never going to let someone down again. Especially not a kid like Nebula.

The two of them had been walking in the direction Tony had chosen for only a couple minutes, before Nebula stopped them abruptly.

"What's up?'' Tony asked.

Nebula's brow furrowed. "You're bleeding.''

Confused, Tony looked down. His wounded side had apparently torn open again. His dark shirt was wet with blood. It hurt, now that Tony thought about it. But his entire body hurt so he hadn't realized.

Nebula lifted his shirt away from the wound. It had indeed torn open but wasn't bleeding as badly as it had previously. Nebula pursed her lips. "I have nothing to bind it with.''

"I think it's fine—"

Nebula's all-black eyes snapped up to meet his. "You need medical attention soon, Tony. Infection has or soon will set in.''

Tony shrugged. "Nothing we can do about it now. Let's hurry. I don't think it's much further.''

It took only an hour of walking to reach the edge of the forest. As soon as they stepped out onto the empty street, Tony knew where they were. He'd only been there once, but it was somewhere he would never forget. "Nebs, welcome to Rose Hill, Tennessee!''

Nebula blinked back at him. "This is good?''

"This is either really good, or really bad.'' He put an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, I'm going to introduce you to an old friend of mine.''

Luckily, not many people were out on the streets at this time of day. They did get a few odd glances, but Tony brushed them all off with "cosplaying, haha.'' While Nebula could pass off as a cosplayer, Tony was glad for one he was so beaten up. If he hadn't been, people would be very confused why MIA mastermind Tony Stark randomly showed up in Tennessee cosplaying with some random girl. No one seemed very interested in what other people were doing anyway. They all looked rather depressed. If half of all life had indeed been wiped out, then Tony couldn't blame them. His stomach squirmed as he thought about his friends. How many of them were still alive?

Nebula, who had only ever heard of Earth, was abundantly curious. She gazed down at the close lights of the small town. Tony promised that he would give her a proper tour of the planet once they got rid of Thanos. By the time Tony and Nebula reached the neighborhood, Tony could barely walk anymore. His legs were shaking and his hands were trembling. Every part of him hurt. He was starving and dehydrated. Nebula was supporting him as they stepped up onto the porch.

"This is it?''

Tony nodded. A horrible thought struck him. What if his friend didn't live here anymore? It had been some time. . . Worse, what if he'd been snapped? Tony had not back up plan. Hands shaking so bad he could barely apply pressure, he rang the doorbell. Several agonizing moments later, the door was opened.

At first disappointment overwhelmed Tony; this boy wasn't who he was looking for. But then he realized that it was the right boy, he'd only grown — a lot. The little boy Tony had briefly known was now several inches taller than himself and had the handsome face of a young man. The main feature that had always stuck with Tony was the haunted blue eyes. And in those haunted blue eyes, a haunted recognition showed. Tony half-expected the young man to slam the door in his face. But he didn't. He just stared at Tony, then Nebula. Finally, he sighed. He moved away from the door and gestured for them to come in his house. "Tony Stark. I hope you have a good reason for disappearing off the face of the earth for two weeks and then turning up at my door.''

Tony smiled. "Hello, Harley. It's been awhile.''


	4. Harley

Harley lead Tony and Nebula into his kitchen, eyes averted. He had them sit down at the table. They were obviously weak and starving. Harley was not sure what to do about that. He gave Tony a glass of water and told him to drink it slowly. He wasn't sure what Nebula needed and she didn't volunteer the information. Harley found Nebula fascinating. She was a robot! An actual, real-life, functioning robot! Where had Tony found her? When they had arrived, she had just muttered her name and followed Tony inside. Harley new nothing about what had happened but he figured it wasn't good. It didn't matter anyway.

Once Tony finished his glass of water he rubbed his eyes and asked politely for more. _He's desperate,_ Harley thought. But he got him more water. He made Tony a bowl of cold pasta; leftovers from dinner. Tony ate is as slowly as he possibly could, which meant he downed the entire bowl in the time it takes most people to eat a few bites.

Harley say down across from Tony. Tony did not say a word. He looked utterly spent. Harley knew he had come to him for help, but he vowed on his sister not to give Tony and/or Nebula any sort of assistance until they explained what the hell was happening.

Several minutes passed. Harley still didn't speak. Nebula stared off into space. She looked haunted, Harley thought. Tony was slouched in his chair, hands covering his pale face. Harley was reminded of the anxiety attacks Tony used to have due to his PTSD. Did he still have it? But Tony was not having an anxiety attack, Harley concluded. He was just exhausted. And before he could get anything out of the older man, Harley knew he had to let him properly rest.

"Hey, uh, do you wanna lay down or something?" Harley got up from his seat and walked around the table to where Tony was seated. Tony lifted his gaunt face from his hands. He blinked, trying to comprehend what the boy had said. The exhaustion had finally caught up to him. Harley noticed.

Gently, the teen pulled Tony to his feet and helped him lie down on the couch. Tony was asleep within moments. Nebula came over and knelt beside the couch as if she were guarding the genius. Harley shrugged. It wasn't like the robot girl was going to tell him anything. He might as well get to bed himself. Tony would not wake for hours and Nebula would go to sleep or whatever she did. Harley knew it was stupid to leave two strangers unattended in his living room overnight while he slept. He should call the police. He should have a long time ago. Tony was a missing person, had obviously gone through shit, and was in need of medical care. But Tony Stark wasn't exactly a stranger. And the robot would raise lots of questions, especially considering the recent events. So Harley went to bed. He pushed away the old memories of Tony from years past; he was not longer a child. No longer was he gullible, nor was he naive. But Harley had a feeling in his stomach that Tony was somehow responsible for the shambles the world had been left in recent weeks. He would make Tony fix it. He would make Tony bring his sister back.

Harley woke late the next morning. His first thought was: _I'm crazy. I've completely lost my shit! Why the hell did I let two strangers sleep in my living room?_ Harley threw off his blankets and stumbled into the hall. Tony was still asleep. Nebula was sitting on the floor, her back against the couch, eyes wandering. She didn't move when he sat beside her.

"Are you alright?" He finally asked.

"No.''

Harley did say anything else for a long time. Then, "can I, like, get you anything? Do you eat normal food?''

Nebula shook her head. "I'll get something later. I've never had Terran - I mean, Earth food."

Just then Tony stirred. Harley and Nebula both jumped up and crouched close by his side. He groaned, rubbed his eyes, and sat up shakily. His eyes drifted from Harley to Nebula, then back to Harley. "I owe you an explanation?''

Harley nodded.

Tony sighed and started to get up from the couch, but gasped, clutching his side. He fell back onto the couch. Nebula was gripping his hand. Harley noticed a blood stain blossoming on Tony's shirt.

"Oh my God!'' Harley scrambled to get bandages and disinfectant. He had Tony strip off his shirt. Harley gaped at the wound. "Oh. My. God.''

Tony had his teeth gritted in pain, but managed to get out, "'m fine.''

"What the hell?! What even _made that?"_

"He got run through with a knife.''

Before Harley could freak out, Tony said, "But I'm okay! Honestly, if this was going to kill me it would have done so a week ago.''

Harley ran a hand through his hair. "Jesus, I need to call an ambulance right now.''

"NO!" Tony and Nebula said together.

"Please let me use your phone,'' Tony begged, "but _don't_ call 911! Please, Harley.''

Harley couldn't believe this was happening to him. But he handed over the medical care to Nebula and ran to get his cell. He stopped before handing Tony the phone, "Wait. Before I let you make a call, you're going to explain everything.''

Tony nodded, wincing as Nebula cleaned his wound. "Yeah, that's fair. But can you get me some water first? And maybe some food?''

Harley sighed. He would just have to be patient. Welp, he was playing hooky at work today.

After Tony had eaten and Nebula had finished dressing his wound, he explained everything. Harley sat silently. Thanos, Nebula's hated "father". Infinity Stones. Infinity Gauntlet. Those three combined had wiped out half the universe?

"You lost someone?'' Tony guessed from Harley's quiet reaction.

Harley nodded. "My mom and . . . and my sister.''

"God, I'm sorry, kid.''

"My sister was just a kid. I mean, I am too, I guess, but she was so. . .''

"Innocent,'' Tony finished for him, with a sad smile. "I know what you're talking about." After a pause, he continued hesitantly, "What about your dad?''

Harley gave an agitated shrug. "Haven't seen him sense he left. I don't care if he's gone.''

"Look,'' said Tony. "You wanna stop Thanos?"

"Yes.''  
"You have nothing left here?''

"What are you getting at?" Harley asked suspiciously.

"Why don't you come back to the Avengers complex with Nebs and I? If there's nothing left here, then why stay? You're a smart kid. We're probably short on numbers and we could really use your help. What do you say?''

Harley was hesitant. He wanted to help avenge his mom and sister. But leaving everything? There was no promise of ever coming back. He got to his feet and headed to his room. "Make your call. I need to think.''

"Fair enough, kid.''

* * *

Despite growing up in the 80's—90's, Tony only had three phone numbers down by memory. He didn't make calls that weren't on his mobile. Well, now he had to. The first number Tony knew was his mom's, but that wouldn't do him any good. The second was Pepper's. He briefly considered it, but decided against it. She would freak. He had sent her a message letting her know he was dying. She was going to be super pissed and Tony hated triggering emotional breakdowns (although he was good at it.) Besides, Tony was not even sure any of them were still alive.

Tony decided to make the third call. The phone rung for a shirt period, then a weary voice answered, "Hello?''

Tony cracked a smile. "Hey, Rhodey.''

"OhmygodTonywherethehellhaveyoubeenPeppergotyourmessagewethoughtyouweredeadyousickbastardwhydidyounotcallsoonerwhatthehellmanareyoualrightwhereareyoushouldIsendsomeoneohshitwhatshouldIdoohshitohshitohshit—"

"Rhodey, Rhodey, God, calm down!'' Said Tony quickly to his panicked friend. "I'm okay! Really, I'm fine. Sorry I only just got back to earth—"

"'Onlyjustgotbacktoaearth'Tonywhattheeffinghellwhywereyouinspaceallthistimejesuswhathappened—"

"Rhodey!"

"Ok, ok,'' Rhodey steadied his breathing. "Sorry, I just— God, Tony! I thought my best friend was dead. . . I mean everyone else is. . .''

Tony bit his lip. "'Everyone else', eh?''

"No,'' said Rhodey hesitantly. "Pepper's okay.''

Relief flooded Tony. Pepper was okay. That was something. "What about everyone else? The. . . team?"

Tony heard a deep sigh crackle over the phone signal. "Rhodey?''

"Steve's fine. So are Nat and Bruce.''

The relief Tony felt over not having lost these three was immense. But he couldn't celebrate just yet.

"Clint survived, but his family. . . Anyway, he's here. So's Thor, and he brought this freaky little raccoon from space. Everyone else is gone,'' Rhodey continues dejectedly. "The King of Wakanda and his sister, Barnes, Sam, Vision, even Wanda. They all just. . . '' He trailed off.

"Turned to dust,'' Tony finished bitterly.

There was a long pause before Rhodey asked tentatively, "What about the ones you were with? You can't have been alone this whole time.''

"Yeah, uh, there was this doctor guy, uh, Strange. Bruce may have told you about him.''

"The "wizard"?"

"Right. There were also these guys from some other planet — they called themselves the "Guardians of the Galaxy". They're all gone, everyone of them. The only one left with me is this humanoid girl called Nebula. She's with me now.''

Rhodey paused again. "Tony? Pepper said something about the kid, Peter.''

"What about him?'' Tony tensed.

"It's his aunt. She a lunatic, that woman. She's been calling the Complex about seven times a day screaming about how we got her nephew killed. We've tried telling her Peter was probably just alone with no witnesses when he disintegrated, but she won't listen. She insists he went to space with you or something. The thing is . . . there's footage of Thanos's ship leaving New York and someone was on it. Gotta admit, Tony, it looked a lot like Spider-Man.''

When he was dying on _The Benatar_ , Tony knew that in the small chance of survival he would have to confront May. But a sudden thought occurred to him. "Kid's dead.''

"Tony. . . gosh, man, I'm sorry. I know how much—"

"It's alright," Tony cut him off. "Well, I mean, it's not, but we may be able to get Peter back. We may be able to get them all back.''

Rhodey sighed again. "Bruce said something about how if we get the Stones back from Thanos and either turn back time or destroy them to might reverse the damage, but I don't know. It seems like fool's hope.

"Maybe. But if there's the slightest chance we can get May her nephew back, we'll take it. Until we know for sure it's impossible, block her number from the line,'' said Tony. Before Rhodey could respond, Tony told him where exactly he was. "Send a chopper if you can. Or a quinjet. Both work fine. There will be three of us, me, Nebula, and this kid I ran into a couple years ago. His name is Harley. He's scrappy, but smart. And we're short on hands, no?''

* * *

When Harley came out of his room, Tony was propped up on the couch. Nebula (who had left Tony to make his call to Rhodey in private) was at his side again, feeding him Lucky Charms. That reminded him. "Nebula, did you get something to eat?''

Nebula shrugged. "A little. I'll wait until we get to the Avengers' Complex.''

"About that,'' began Harley.

"You're going,'' Tony interrupted. "I already told them you were.''

Harley considered arguing about Tony's lack of respect, but decided it wasn't worth it. He was going to go anyway. "Is there anything I should bring?''

"Deodorant, some fresh undies,'' Tony recommended.

"Haha,'' Harley drawled.

"I'm kidding. They have plenty of deodorant of every scent and undies every size and color at the Complex. You don't have to bring anything. Just be ready to go in an hour.''

Harley did not believe Tony, so he quickly packed a backpack with certain personal items and a picture of his mom and sister. When he came back to his living room, Tony was talking to a man in a black suit.

"You said it would be an hour!'' Said Harley accusingly.

"Mm, well, service is great.'' Tony gestured to the heavyset man in a crisp black suit. "Harley, this is my friend and — Happy. Happy this is Harley.'' Happy made no move to greet the boy. He turned back to Tony. "The jet is in a field, a few miles from here. Of course, we brought a car, so if you'll just come this way. . .''

Nebula gently helped Tony to his feet. Tony made no indication he was injured, but Happy seemed to know. "Tony! You never said anything about needing emergency medical care! We brought a medical team, but—"

"It's not an emergency. Let's go.''

Harley followed Nebula, who was supporting most of Tony's weight, and a very flustered Happy out his door. He paused to lock it. Then he climbed in the back seat of a very fancy sports car. The car was both the nicest and the fastest Harley had ever ridden in. He clung to his seatbelt as it zoomed through the suburban roads. Not many people were out at that time in the afternoon which was good.

Just outside the town, the car skidded to a stop by an incredible jet. A quinjet, Tony called it. The driver and Happy got out first, followed by the other three. Tony was instantly greeted by a tall man with dark skin and strange braces around his legs and lower back. The man pulled Tony into a tight embrace. When he pulled away he looked Tony over. "You look like shit.''

"I feel like it too,'' Tony grunted. But Harley could tell the genius was overjoyed to see his friend safe.

The man extended a hand to Harley. "I'm Colonel James Rhodes, but you can call me Rhodey. You're Harley?''

Harley nodded. "Nice to meet you.''

Rhodey dipped his head and made a similar introduction to Nebula. She was rather cold, but Rhodey didn't seem to notice. He was too busy helping Tony onto the plain and into the medical bay. Nebula followed, as did Harley who had no clue what else to do.

As Tony's wound was given proper treatment and an IV was inserted, a woman walked in. She was pretty, with blonde hair and an air of confidence. She crossed her arms and eyed Tony warily. "So this is Tony Stark?''

Tony rolled his eyes. "Who's this bitch?''

"Carol Danvers,'' the woman identified herself, seemingly unperturbed by Tony's insults.

"She's an old friend of Fury's,'' said Rhodey. This meant nothing to Harley, but Tony nodded. "She's going to help us.''

"How does she plan to do that?"

Carol laughed and stalked off.

* * *

 **Oww weak ending, long-ass chapter. The only reason I even wrote this today was because I really didn't want to write a History paper. Ugh.**

 **I managed to get Endgame tickets (yay!) so my official time of death is April 25, 2019, 6:30pm Ctrl.**

 **I can't wait.**

 **Also I want to get at least one more update done before the release, so my other story (Shades of Blue, Jurassic World) will be on hold until then! Sorry:(**

 **Seriously though, I get my updates up much more quickly with reviews! They motivate me a lot and help me know what y'alls want for this story.**

 **Until next time,**

 **xxxRosalie**


	5. Harley II

The Avengers Complex was truly amazing. It was a beautiful white building, with large windows. The general material (Harley couldn't tell what it was from so far away) was white, which complimented the tinted windows exquisitely. The grass on the lawn was overgrown, but had the appearance of something that had been once well-maintained, but now neglected.

Harley watched it draw closer from the quinjet window. The flight from Tennessee to the Complex was surprisingly short, only lasting for a couple hours. The entire structure of the jet captivated Harley. It was a masterpiece of engineering. He had studied it and talked to a couple of the people on board (who turned out to be these super chill guys who used to work for SHIELD) for the first hour or so. Then they went back to their jobs and Harley sat at the window the rest of the time, watching the landscapes change rapidly beneath them. Rhodey, Carol, and Nebula were still in the medical bay with Tony.

As the quinjet descended upon the landing pad, six figures came out large, clear doors to greet them. Harley waited eagerly for the ramp to be lowered. His initial shock and disdain of the situation had vanished into excitement. He might actually do something important for once!

Harley was joined by Rhodey and Nebula, who were supporting Tony between them. To Harley's great surprise, Tony looked almost good as new! He was in clean clothes (as was Nebula) and his face had regained its color. He no longer appeared to be in any pain, just sort of weak. Carol was nowhere to be seen, but Harley didn't care. She came by as stand-offish to him. She seemed to think she was better than everyone else. And maybe, Harley thought, she was.

As the ramp finally lowered, Harley ran down it on a whim. He ran straight into a tall blond man. Harley actually stumbled back. The man caught him before he could fall and straightened him with a chuckle. Harley looked up to thank the man, but stopped. He blinked. "You-you're Captain America.''

Steve Rogers laughed again. "I guess you could say some people call me that.''

The other five people looked less amused. They were all tall, strong, and grim-faced. They were the Avengers. And this other guy. He looked less grim and more confused.

Harley stepped back. Rhodey, Nebula, and Tony were coming down. The Avengers all looked relieved to see Tony alive, but Harley noticed there was a bit of tension there as well. All eyes went to Steve Rogers. Harley had seen on the news something about the Avengers breaking up a couple years back, and he guessed it had something to do with Tony and Rogers.

But Steve didn't seem the least resentful. He stepped forward, the others watching respectfully. "You alright, Tony?''

Tony shrugged. "Been better.''

"I think we could all say that.'' Steve smiled, but it was without humor. There was a long (awkward) pause before Tony said, "it's nice to see you again, Old Man.''

Tony and Steve embraced, and the tight rope of tension was cut. Tony was hugged individually by his old friends. Not much talking happened. They all told Tony it was nice to see him and they were glad he was alright and such. The only female among them — Harley recognized her as the Black Widow — gave Tony an additional affectionate "you look like shit.''

It was a bit awkward for Harley when Tony introduced him. But it was mercifully cut short when a shocked voice yelped, "Oh my God, Nebula?!"

That was when Harley noticed the raccoon — yes, it was an actual raccoon! — dressed in a jumpsuit, clinging to the back of Thor. Nebula seemed to recognize him immediately. "Oh my God, Rocket?!"

Rocket, the raccoon, leapt down and approached Nebula. "What the hell are you doing here?''

"What are you doing here? Why are you on Earth?''

Rocket jerked his head in the God of Thunder's direction. "I came here with him.''

Nebula nodded, beginning to fit the pieces together. "You came with Groot.''

Harley had no clue who Groot was. Tony didn't appear to know either. But the other Avengers grew solemn and Rocket's tail drooped. But no one spoke a word.

"He's gone, Nebula.''

Nebula scooped him up and held him close. Harley noticed Rocket reacted stiffly to the gesture; physical affection was not something he received often.  
After a few moments, Rocket drew back. "Where're the others?''

Nebula and Tony exchanged a nervous glance. Rocket caught it. His eyes narrowed. "What? What aren't you telling me?''

"Rocket. . ." Nebula began, but the raccoon cut him off.

"No,'' Rocket began shaking his head franticlly. "No, no, no. They're not gone.'' He launched himself out of Nebula arms, dropped to all-fours, and started racing towards the complex, disappearing inside.

Thor started after him, but Steve stopped him. "Give 'im time.''

Harley averted his eyes, his cheeks burning. _So much loss. So much pain._

"You guys just going to stand here all day?'' Carol Danvers was coming down the quintet's ramp.

A couple people shot her glares, but they all made their way slowly into the compound.

Steve Rogers lead the heroes down a long hall. For how large it was it was surprisingly empty. Harley figured whoever was left had been sent home. The Avengers appeared to be on their own private mission. Upon, turning a corner, a shriek pierced the air.

Nebula jumped away from Tony with a startled cry as a tall, thin, blonde woman threw herself into Tony's arms. Tony stumbled back, grunting in pain, but Rhodey steadied him. The blonde woman clung to Tony, her arms wrapped tightly around his chest, her head buried in his shoulder. Harley saw Tony's expression turn into a gaze more gentle than he had ever seen on the genius's face. After several long moments, the woman pulled away to study Tony's face. "I thought you were dead,'' she whispered. "I got your message. . .''

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I thought I _was_ going to die, but, well, you know, we'll talk about it later.''

She hugged him again. "Never do that again, okay?''

"Not without telling you, I won't,'' Tony promised.

"Just don't go to space.''

Tony addressed the team. "Did you not tell her I was coming?''

Bruce shrugged. "We were trying to avoid her freaking out on us.''

"Mission failed,'' muttered Natasha.

Harley felt uncomfortable again. Nebula caught his eye. "That's his fiancé, Pepper,'' she explained. Harley nodded.

"I hate to cut the reunions short,'' Carol broke in, "but what are we going to do about Thanos?''

Tony turned to Bruce. "Dr Banner?''

Bruce looked awkward at being formerly addressed by his friend. "Yes, Tony?"

"You up for some hardcore genius-ing?''

"I guess. I mean, are you?''

Tony smiled humorlessly. "Like hell I am. Let's kick this big grape's ass.''

* * *

 **Just FYI, there will be a major time-skip before the next chapter. This is the last one that will be in a consecutive order. Sorry if that type of thing annoys you, but I don't have much of a choice at this point.**

 **Reviews are appreciated, as always!**


	6. Peter

Peter woke with a start. Something was happening. He scrambled to his feet, stumbling against the hard, cold wall. He tried to steady his shaking breathing. A sound was coming from the mouth of the cave. It sounded like a vacuum, but nothing was being sucked forward. _It's just noise_ , Peter tried telling himself, _i_ _t can't hurt me_. But was that true?

The last thing Peter remembered before waking up nearly three—or was it four?—weeks ago in the cave was a sick feeling in his stomach and a pounding in his head. And then. . . he felt himself fading. Peter hadn't thought that was something a person could distinctly feel but he sure had. He had not gone alone though, Mr Stark was there, holding him close. And then Peter was in the cave, lying on his back in two inches of water. At first he had gone in full panic mode. He had ran out of the cave to see there was only four feet of land before a plummet to God-knows-where. The cave was not very large. It had one elevated rock where Peter spent most of his time. It was the only dry place. The entire cave floor was covered in water, as was the land outside. The cliff edge was a sort of waterfall. It was a mystery how water constantly flowed down from the ground water but it never got any shallower. It remained about two inches. The sky was an odd magenta, casting everything in a red glow 24/7. It never got dark. Peter thanked the Lord for that.

Throughout the majority of the weeks Peter had spent in the cave, he had sat on the dry rock, pondering his situation. What had happened? He remembered the Thanos guy leaving with the green rock. Shortly after, the retro space dude and his weird but cool alien friends had turned to dust. He assumed that's what had happened to him too: he had turned to dust. But what caused it? Had Thanos gotten the other rocks? The Infinity Stones, the wizard had called them. And if Peter had turned to dust, then why was he here? This couldn't be heaven. Also, where were the space people? Why hadn't they all been put together if they had all died the same way at roughly the same time? Who else had been turned to dust? Had Mr Stark and the robot girl? What about back home? Had the dusting affected all planets? Were Ned and Michelle alright? What about Aunt May? Would he ever see them again? Almost every time he thought of Aunt May, Ned, and home he cried. He was alone; no one could see his tears. Peter was afraid, isolated. And very, very, alone.

After the first couple days, the silence began to drive Peter mad. He began speaking to himself, saying his thought outloud. It was better than silence. He reminded himself of Gollum, from _The Lord of the Rings._ The thought horrified him. He remembered watching those movies as a little kid. He wasn't scared of the orcs or even the Nazgûl. But Gollum gave him the creeps. The madness and derangement of the character freaked Peter out. He remembered burying his face in a pillow whenever Gollum came on screen. He remembered Uncle Ben kindly reassuring him that it was all pretend, and "just a movie". But this wasn't just a movie. This was real. Uncle Ben wasn't here. And Peter cried for him.

When his uncle had died two years prior, Peter had been devastated. Partly because he blamed himself. But he had pushed that all away to be there for Aunt May. He had put on a brave face, even though he was only fourteen. But now, as he was constantly reminded, he was alone. He didn't have to be brave for anyone. Peter cried until his eyes were swollen and his throat was sore.

Crying was a normal thing for Peter now. The last two years of balancing the stress of school and the stress of Spider-Man and the stress of being the man of the house had taken a toll on the young boy. He finally felt he could let it all out. Besides, it made him feel _alive._ He wasn't, he knew. That hope had vanished when he had realized he had been there five days and had not felt hungry or thirsty. As an experiment, Peter had punched the stone wall as hard as he could. He could not feel physical pain either. And yet, he had to be alive. At least he wasn't completely dead, just _mostly dead_. He had sniggered maniacally when he remembered the quote from that ancient movie, _The Princess Bride_. ". . . mostly dead is still slightly alive.'' That was exactly what Peter was. An awkward in-between. Mostly dead, but slightly alive. Or maybe mostly alive, but slightly dead.

Peter decided there wasn't much to lose. He edged closer to the vacuum noise. He was reluctant to get back into the water, though it wasn't deep and he had never taken off his waterproof suit. The water made him uncomfortable because it made no splashing sound, nor did the waterfall make the usual din.

The sound amplified as Peter stepped out of the cave. He walked to the edge of cliff/waterfall. He looked down. Everything looked normal. The water plunged as far as the eye could see. But the stone didn't. It was like the whole structure was floating. Peter wondered for the hundredth time if he should risk jumping. Would he fall for eternity? Was there a bottom? Would he die permanently when he hit the bottom? Was there civilization down there, if there was even a bottom? If he died would his dead body just lie there, bent and broken? Or would he go to actual heaven this time? But the most common recurring question came back: was it worth the risk? Peter opted against it for the hundredth time. He still secretly hoped Mr Stark would come up with a way to save him, bring him home. Mr Stark could do anything. Hopefully, that included forgiving Peter. Peter had purposefully stowed away on the donut ship. Sure, he didn't know he was going to be dusted out of existence, and he never would have disobeyed Mr Stark if he knew _that_ was going to happen. Peter was ridden with guilt. He knew Mr Stark, knew he would blame himself for Peter's disappearance. If Peter could send one message to anyone home, it would be to tell Mr Stark it wasn't his fault. But that, like almost everything, was out of Peter's control.

Peter did go over the cliffside. But not on his own account. The vacuum noise suddenly grew sharper and even louder. It was all around Peter. He tried covering his ears to block it out, but it didn't work. Suddenly, he felt like his lungs were being ripped out. He was being drug forward. He tried to turn and retreat back to the cave, but he was paralyzed. The invisible force tore him away from the cliffside. But he didn't plunge over the edge. Instead he was suspended in midair. Peter began to panic. He tried to cry out. He couldn't breathe; the air had left his lungs. But it did not hurt, even though it should have burned. He was pulled another ten feet from the land. Then, as suddenly as it had started, everything stopped. The noise, the pull, the uncontrollable movement. Peter felt himself shaking. He was still paralyzed, still suspended in air. A couple feet in front of him a ball of light appeared. It started spinning, growing. Although terrified, Peter was curious. The light expanded until it was about six feet squared. Peter had just enough time to think, _It's a portal,_ before he was hurled through it and lost all consciousness.

* * *

Darkness. Peter's first thought when he came to was that he was in complete darkness. He had not been in complete darkness for weeks, as the cave was always bathed in a red hue. But now his world was pitched black. Had he finally died? Peter was a good kid and began to grow frustrated he wasn't in heaven yet. He was still a virgin! He hadn't stole anything! He hadn't murdered anyone! Why wasn't he in heaven?!

And then it hit him, something that proved he was very much alive. _Pain._ Terrible, excruciating, blinding pain. It ripped through his chest and throat, clawing at his insides. People experience minor pains everyday, which lead them to build a certain degree of tolerance to the daily discomforts. But after going three whole weeks without any sort of physical pain, Peter was in debilitating agony. His lungs felt like they were literally on fire. He imagined flames licking them, scorching and shriveling. He writhed around, shrieking. _Need. . . air. . . air._ Peter managed to pull himself up on his hand and knees. _Breathe, please, just breathe_ , he begged himself. He gasped. The pain lessened for a moment, then beat back harder than ever. Sobbing, Peter forced himself to start drawing in slow breaths. He felt his lungs expand, the pain fading slightly. His head was spinning and his stomach was churning. Peter kept breathing.

He was dimly aware of someone or something moving him. His chest was elevated in a position that made breathing easier. The pain ebbed away. It was still there, but significantly reduced. Peter's breathing suddenly changed. He no longer was in desperate need of air, so slow breaths weren't as necessary as before. His sobbing increased and he started breathing rapidly. His dark world was spinning. Peter thought he was going to pass out again. He hoped he would. The world was too much right now. Then he heard a voice. It wasn't his. But he knew it almost as well.

"It's alright, kid. You're okay. I got you, I got you. No one can hurt you now. Come on, Pete, breathe. You're gonna be just fine.''

Peter clung to man holding him. He decided never to let go.

"You're not hurt, are you?''

"N-n-no,'' Peter managed to gasp through his tears.

"Can you open your eyes?''

Peter realized he had not tried. That was why everything had been so dark. He slowly cracked them open. An achingly familiar face greeted him. "M-mr Stark, I-I'm sor-r-ry'', he sobbed.

Tony's brow furrowed. "No, kid, I'm the one who should be sorry.''

"N-no,'' Peter insisted hysterically, "no-none of this w-was your f-f-fault. I—"

"Okay, okay,'' soothed Tony.

"Do you f-forgive me, Mr St-stark?''

"Of course, I do, Pete.''

Satisfied, Peter buried his head in Tony's shoulder and cried uncontrollably. Tony held him close, rocking back and forth. He murmured comfortingly. Eventually, Peter's sobs ebbed away to sniffles and hitched breathing. He blinked hard a couple times and looked up at Tony. Tony smiled softly and gently brushed the tears off Peter's cheeks. "You sure you're okay? Does anything hurt?''

"M-my chest,'' Peter tried to keep the whimper out of his voice.

"Okay, we'll get you taken care of.''  
"Are you okay?'' asked Peter.

For some reason, Tony's eyes got all watery. "Yeah, Pete, I'm great. Come on, let's get you back to HQ.''

"I want to go home, Mr Stark.''

"I promise I will personally see to it you get back to Aunt May,'' said Tony. "But for now we need to get you some medical care; you're in shock.''

"I hate hospitals,'' Peter whined.

"Which is why I'm taking you to the Complex. Trust me, you'll love it. There's a whole bunch of cool shit.''

"Bad word,'' Peter murmured sleepily. He was tired all of a sudden. He rested his head on Tony's shoulder.

Tony laughed. "Sorry, kid.'' He stood up and started carrying Peter towards a quinjet.

Peter had both arms wrapped tightly around Tony's neck. He wouldn't have felt safe anywhere else. Although, confused and disoriented, Peter was curious. He peaked over Tony's shoulder at his surroundings. He had no clue where he was. Nothing looked familiar. Wherever he was, shit had gotten real. The ground (Peter assumed it had once been covered in grass) was burned black with multiple small fires burning helter-skelter. Peter saw a brand new version of Tony's Iron Man armor lying discarded near the spot where Peter had arrived. Peter guessed Tony had taken it off before going to him. The thought made Peter feel strangely warm inside.

A little ways off were the rest of the Avengers. Peter saw Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hawkeye, War Machine, Ant-Man, and — was that a racoon? Huh. With them was, Peter noticed with a rush of excitement, Doctor Banner! He was not in his Hulk form, but all the better. Peter had always been an admirer of Doctor Banner as the genius he was. The Avengers were all sweaty and bloody from the recent fight, but appeared mostly unharmed. They were helping other members of the team, who seemed to be in similar positions like Peter. He didn't need anyone to inform him that these were the other victims of the disintegration.

Captain America was supporting the Winter Soldier, who Peter recognized from the Airport Battle in Germany, which seemed like a lifetime ago. Cap and the Winter Soldier had their heads close together, talking quietly to each other. War Machine was assisting a very disoriented Falcon, who Peter also remembered from Germany. Black Widow and Hawkeye were both with Scarlet Witch, who appeared extremely shaken. Ant-Man was helping some girl Peter didn't recognize. Doctor Banner was — holy shit! that was the King of Wakanda! And Black Panther! The raccoon and Thor were helping the aliens Peter met on Titan. The raccoon must have been part of their team, along with . . . was that a tree? Their apparent leader, Quill, seemed completely shut down. Peter understood why. On Titan, they almost had Thanos under control before Quill found out his girlfriend had been killed and he kinda lost it and screwed everything up. Peter couldn't imagine the guilt and anguish Quill must be feeling. Everyone else's friends were back, but Quill's girl was never coming back.

Someone caught Peter's eye and gave him a reassuring smile. It was the wizard! Unlike everyone else, Doctor Strange was unperturbed by the transition back. He was apparently talking with the three people who were making no move to help anyone. One of them was the robot girl from Titan. Peter was surprised she wasn't helping her friends, but she looked preoccupied. The other two people Peter had never seen before. One was a boy a little older than him and the other was a blonde girl in a suit like the Avengers. They were standing around the Gauntlet. Yes, Thanos' Gauntlet. Peter had no idea how they got it, but it made him realize that the ugly purple dude was no where to be seen. Was he dead? Peter didn't dare to dream this was all over. Everyone was grim-faced. He considered asking Tony, but decided he would once he had gotten some rest.

Tony took Peter into one of the three quinjets. He placed him gently on a cot. Peter hadn't wanted to let go, but Tony promised that he wouldn't leave his side. He placed an oxygen mask over Peter's nose and mouth. Peter was relieved to discover it made his chest pain go away. Then Tony injected something in his arm. He said it was "medicine to help with the shock", but Peter was smarter than that, even in his disoriented state. He knew it was a sedative, but at this point he did not care. He closed his eyes and, gripping Tony's hand, let himself slip into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Peter felt much better when he woke. He was lying in bed in a room that looked very similar to a hospital room. He still had the oxygen mask on and was hooked up to an IV. His chest no longer hurt. He was breathing normally again. He actually felt good. He sat up and reached up to pull off his mask, but was stopped.

"Hey, hang on there.'' Tony caught Peter's hand before he could take off his mask. "You should leave that on until the doctor comes back in.''

Tony was sitting in a folding chair by Peter's bedside. Peter vaguely wondered how long Tony had been there. Then he realized he didn't know how long he himself had been there. He glanced warily around.

"Don't worry, we're at the Avengers Compound,'' Tony reassured him.

Peter relaxed, satisfied with the knowledge he was not in a hospital. His stomach growled loudly. Tony laughed.

The nurse arrived shortly, and after giving Peter a quick checkover, allowed him to remove his oxygen mask. Tony had someone bring Peter a large tray of surprising good cafeteria food. While the high-schooler ate, Tony explained everything that had happened since Titan. Apparently Thanos had collected all six Infinity Stones and snapped his fingers, which wiped out half the universe. Tony and the robot girl, Nebula, had made their way back to Earth and were joined by some other smart kid named Harley. They had all gone to the Compound and the Avengers devised a plan in which they cornered Thanos, with the help of some girl called Carol. Bruce had discovered a way to turn back the snap's damage just enough so that they had the rest of the heroes. According to Tony, Thanos had fled after they took his Gauntlet. Peter didn't really understand why they hadn't just killed Thanos then and there, but then he remembered their struggle on Titan. He was even tougher than he looked. Chills ran down Peter's spine as Tony described the army Thanos had created in great detail. The Avengers had the Stones (and would destroy them as soon as they knew how) but they still had Thanos _and_ his army of thousands to defeat. This was long from over.

Just after Tony finished catching Peter up to speed, Harley and Nebula walked in.

"They want you in the rec room, Tony,'' Nebula informed him.

Tony glanced at Peter, reluctant to leave the boy.

"We'll stay with him awhile,'' Harley offered.

Peter nodded, eager to get to know Tony's new friends.

Tony relented and got up to leave. He ruffled Peter's hair. "See ya, Pete.''

"Bye, Mr Stark!"

Nebula and Harley got right to introductions. Peter was mildly surprised to learn Harley was actually an old friend of Tony's. The three hit it off marvelously. Both boys were street-smart and extremely intelligent. Peter was more into science and Harley was more into engineering, but they both had a wide knowledge of the subjects. Nebula didn't talk as much, but she seemed perfectly content with listening to their nerdy convo. Peter did not think she was much of a chatterer anyway.

The one thing the three new friends were equally interested in was how they were going to defeat Thanos. The Avengers and Guardians —even the ones recovering from the snap— were in a "secret meeting" discussing the topic. Nebula, Harley, and Peter were all indignant at their lack of invitation. Nebula was the daughter of Thanos, and could provide more information about him than anyone. Harley had worked closely with Bruce and Tony on the plan to bring back the fallen heroes. And Peter was Spider-Man! They spoke for over an hour about how they thought they could contribute.

By the time Tony returned, his three young companions were sitting with their legs crossed deep in conversation. Tony was extremely pleased they got along. He had been slightly concerned there would be some tension between Peter and Harley, but the two boys were hanging out like best buds.

Tony reluctantly informed Nebula and Harley that Peter's nurse demanded he be left alone to rest. Peter protested that the other snap victims had been in a meeting the last two hours, but Tony shut that complaint down by pointing out the others hadn't had panic attacks and almost suffocated upon return. So Nebula and Harley said goodbye, promising to come back later.

"Rest up, kid.'' Tony smoothed his sheets, reminding Peter painfully of the way Aunt May took care of him when he was sick. "Tomorrow we'll get you home. A certain Aunt of yours has been ringing us off the hook.''

Peter felt brief guilt. Of course Aunt May would have been terrified; three weeks he'd been gone. But then again, while Thanos was still around Aunt May would never be safe, and anyway neither would Peter be. Hearing Nebula and Harley's talk had made Peter less homesick. He didn't want to go back, not just yet. "Mr Stark. . . I want to stay here. . . with you. I want to help the Avengers.''

"But—"

"You made me an Avenger, remember? On the donut ship?''

"Yeah, but that—"

 _"Please,_ Mr Stark!'' Peter begged. "I want to help.''

Tony sighed. "You're a kid.''

"That didn't stop you before,'' said Peter, not missing a beat.

"No,'' Tony retorted, "that didn't stop _you_. Remember what I said to you about being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man? I never would have dragged you into a shit situation like this.''

Peter thought for a moment. "You're right. I brought this all upon myself. Because I want to help the Avengers. Don't tell me I can't help, I know you're short on hands.''

Tony sighed, scrubbing at his eyes. "Peter, are you sure?''

"Yes.'' Peter held his gaze.

Tony smiled in spite of himself. "You brave little idiot. I can't make you leave, I guess. As long as you think it would be fine with Aunt May?"

This time Peter smiled. "Definitely not.''


	7. Peter II

**This may or may not be the last time I update, depending on whether or not I survive tonight.**

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His hands were shaking. Peter tried to swallow away the growing lump in his throat. The phone kept buzzing in anticipation for the receiver to answer. Peter was sitting on the roof of the Complex. He had needed a place where he would be left alone. It was an easy climb for him, even in jeans and a hoodie. Peter didn't need his suit to scale a wall.

Peter had been discharged from the medical bay the previous evening. He had spent most of this day being caught up to speed on the Avengers' plan to defeat Thanos and his army. So far, it was not looking bright. Anyway, Tony had taken Peter aside before dinner. The genius had seriously explained to Peter that they were entering a dangerous zone. The chances they all made it out were close to zero. With that being said, Tony had told Peter, you have to call your aunt. Peter agreed; he didn't have much of a choice. If he had been brought back only to die at the hand of Thanos, Aunt May should at least know he'd been brought back at all. Besides, Peter missed his aunt dearly.

So why was he so nervous? He had spoken to her everyday for fourteen years, up until the last three weeks. Peter realized that he was terrified he'd never see her again. What would she do without him, anyway? If he died she would be alone. Peter could not do that to Aunt May.

The phone suddenly stopped buzzing. "Hello?"

"Heeeyy,'' said Peter awkwardly. "Uh, is this May Parker?'' He cringed. He knew it was. But he was not sure how else to start the conversation. His voice was so tense May didn't even recognize it.

"This is she,'' her tired voice responded.

"Hi . . ." Peter mentally slapped himself.

"Can I help you?''

"Sure.''

The awkwardness intensified.

"With what?" May asked after a pause.

"Uh. . ." Peter honestly had no idea what he was going to say.

"Is this a prank? Because I really don't—"

"No!" said Peter, his voice suddenly an octave higher. He brought it down before continuing. "No, this isn't a prank. Please, don't hang up.''

Then, before she could respond. "This is Peter. Your Peter. Peter Parker."

Peter heard a shuttering gasp over the line. It was several moments before May could respond. She was crying when she did. "Peter?''

"Hey Aunt May.'' _Crap, now I'm crying too._

"Oh, my baby,'' she sobbed. "Peter, oh Peter. What happened? No, actually that doesn't matter; tell me later. Wh-where are you? I'm coming to get you.''

Peter took a deep breath. "Actually, I'm not coming home just yet.''

"W-what?''

"Listen, I am so sorry I got on that ship in New York. I know it was stupid and irresponsible. I'm not making excuses. But things went pretty downhill from there and I kind of. . . disappeared for a few weeks.''

"You—"

"Yeah. Like half of the population.''

"But now you're back?''

"It's complicated. I promise I'll explain everything in detail later. For now, you're going to have to be patient. Basically the Avengers were able to bring back the team members who disappeared. But we're going to figure out how to bring everyone back.''

"Let me guess,'' sighed May. "First you have to defeat a super villain?"

"Yesss.'' Peter waited for her response with bated breath.

"Okay.'' She drew several more deep breaths. "Okay. I don't understand any of this. But I trust you. And _I'm so proud of you_. Do what you need to do. Just please, be careful.''

 _Did Aunt May just approve my decision?_ Peter was nothing short of shocked. But he'd take it. "Okay, uh, thanks. I'll call you as soon as this is over. Then you can come pick me up and bitch about the condition I'm in all you want.''

May laughed. "Got it, Peter. I'll hold you to that. Don't die.'' Then after a moment she added, "I want you to know something, honey.''

"What?''

"I love you. So goddamn much. Please always remember that.''

"I will,'' whispered Peter. "I-I love you too.''

"Bye then,'' May said reluctantly. "I'll be waiting for your call.''

"Goodbye, Aunt May.'' The line went dead.

Peter sat another couple minutes on the rock, trying to compose himself. He hated the thought that might be the last time he ever spoke to his adoring aunt. Eventually, he came to the conclusion he was just going to have to survive the horror-show to come.

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Peter's heart was in his throat. Never before had he experienced this kind of anxiety before a battle. Probably because he'd never been in a proper battle like this. Titan did not count.

The newly improved Iron Spider suit clung to Peter as he sweat buckets underneath it. The suit was oddly absorbing the sweat as well as cooling Peter down, but Peter wasn't hot. He was terrified.

Beside him, Nebula and Harley were preparing as well. Nebula seemed calm and collected, this was obviously not a new experience for her. Harley, like Peter, was extremely nervous.

Thanos' army had been spotted in the distance. They were attacking. This was war.

A knock sounded at the door of the small room the teens were prepping in. Peter and Harley jumped. Nebula rolled her eyes. "Come in.''

Tony slid open the door, stepped in, then quickly shut the door after him.

"What's going on?'' Harley asked.  
Tony was already in his Iron Man armor. "The army is almost here.''

"Has Thanos been spotted yet?'' Nebula demanded.

Tony shook his head. "Not yet.''

"The coward is hiding. He's afraid.''

"He should be,'' agreed Tony. "Okay, listen guys. I just came here to tell you all to be careful. You know the plan, you know your jobs. No heroics, okay? If you see someone being attacked leave them. The Avengers will deal with that.''

"But aren't we Avengers?'' Peter asked.

"Eh, more like Junior Avengers.''

"I'm just backup,'' said Harley quickly. "No avenging necessary.''

Tony cocked his head. "You three are all valuable members of the team. But just. . . keep a low profile this time.''

"Why?" asked Nebula crossly. "If one of our friends is in immediate danger, then why would we just leave them for death?''

"You guys watch each others' backs. Don't worry about the adults—"

"But Mr Stark,'' Peter protested. "What if someone else can't get to them in time? What if—"

"It's not your fight!"

"But it is our fight!" Nebula cried. "We've all lost people at the hands of Thanos. We deserve to help! We all want him dead.''

Peter and Harley nodded, confirming it to Tony.

He let out a puff of air, frustrated. "I just want you to be safe. You're kids, little punks.

"We understand that Tony,'' said Harley. "But you need understand what we're saying. And you need to understand why we can't just sit back and watch our friends die.''

Tony stared at the ground. "Okay, uhhhh, no. This is not going to work.''

"It has to,'' insisted Nebula.

A commotion suddenly sounded outside the door. Cap ran in. "Tony! We've been looking everywhere for you.''

"What happened?''

Peter watched the two older men exchange a grim glance. Whatever Cap had to say, it wasn't good.

"They're almost to the door. If we don't go out now, we're risking being trapped in here.''

Peter's stomach flipped.

"Give me a second,'' said Tony.

Cap dipped his head then turned and ran back the way he came.

Tony looked back at his teenage friends. "Okay. Shit. Okay, okay, okay. Just . . . use your best judgement. Look after each other. If you must go all-hero and save someone make sure it isn't at your own expense. Well, see you around, I guess.''

Before he knew what he was doing, Peter had wrapped his arms around Tony's armored chest. "Be careful, Mr Stark.'' Peter felt Nebula and Harley pack tightly into the hug as well. They stayed that way for several precious moments. Peter felt a sense of security. His nerves disappeared. No matter how it ended, he would go down with three of his best friends and the man that he saw as a father.

"'Kay, kid.'' Tony blinked back tears. He quickly rubbed his eyes, untangled himself from his kids, and fled.

Peter stood with Nebula and Harley in silence.

Harley shrugged. "What are we waiting for?''

"Let's go,'' nodded Nebula, her face hard-set.

Peter squared his small shoulders and relaxed his body, resolved.

"Whatever it takes.''


	8. The Stark Kids

**Goddamn. I am shook. I LOVED Endgame. I thought it was the best Marvel movie - even better than Black Panther! Not only did I think it was the best Marvel movie, I thought it was the best movie I've ever seen (or will ever see). If you haven't see, SEE IT NOW.**

 **This is the final chapter of "puer praesidio". I hope you have enjoyed it! This chapter contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Endgame even though it's nothing like the movie . . . so not really spoilers . . . but still MAJOR SPOILERS . . . 'cause I have no clue wtf I was doing here. Look, just watch Endgame, okay? It's really good.**

 **Also, since this story is in my mindverse and not the canon MCU, the part where Tony is referred to as "father" is directed towards his relationships with Nebula, Harley, and Peter, since here he was never able to ****ENDGAME SPOILER*** marry Pepper, meaning his canon daughter Morgan was never conceived.**

 **Ugh, now I'm just rambling! Anyhoo, thank you _so_ much, reader, for spending a minuscule fragment of your limited time on Earth reading my story. I am forever grateful. **

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_puer praesidio, latin - protect the young_

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Water soaked through Peter's jeans, soaking his knees. He sat back on his heels. His eyes swept over the gray horizon. His fingertips subconsciously tapped his thighs. Harley was also kneeling beside him with the same dismal expression. He was absentmindedly wringing his hands nervously. Only Nebula remained still. She sat with her hands in her lap, legs crossed. She didn't mind the wet grass or the gray sky.

They did not speak. No one had anything to say. They just sat in silence, alone together. It was a very comfortable silence. They understood each other well enough for verbal conversation to be unnecessary.

Harley's phone vibrated against his thigh. He pulled it out of his pocket, checking it reluctantly. He sighed softly. "They want us to come back now. There's a storm approaching.''

"I don't care,'' muttered Peter.

"I know,'' said Nebula. She lay a hand on his shoulder. "But if we don't go now they'll come get us anyway. We can come back tomorrow.''

Tears filled Peter's eyes. He was past caring that his two friends saw him cry. "I don't want to go.'' He choked on a sob. "I didn't want him to go!"

Harley scooted closer to Peter and put a comforting arm around him. "No one did, Peter. But it's just one of those things — no one could have done anything to stop it. Sometimes things like this happen. And when they do, there's nothing we can do but remember the people we've loved and lost.''

Nebula, Harley, and Peter remained pressed close to one another until the rain began to fall in sheets. Finally, Nebula pulled the boys to their feet. When Peter resisted, Nebula pointed out that May would not appreciate it if he caught cold. Peter muttered that he didn't care, but got up anyway.

They started back towards the cemetery's entrance/exit. Peter paused and turned back towards the grave.

ANTHONY "TONY'' EDWARD STARK

May 29 1970 - April 26 2019

"I am Iron Man"

Fiance, Friend, Father

"Goodbye, Mr Stark. I'll see you again someday.''


End file.
